Kohistan residents suspend KKH blockade after assurance on grid station

MANSEHRA: Residents in Lower Kohistan on Sunday suspended their blockade of the Karakoram Highway until June 12 after the district administration assured them that the upgraded 132kV grid station would be energised by then.

The announcement was made by the Islahi Committee of Lower Kohistan, a body comprising elders and clerics. Committee member Maulana Ahmad Ali conveyed the decision to protesters gathered on the highway. Deputy Commissioner Zuhaib Hayat and District Police Officer Zafar Ahmad Khan were present on the occasion.

Earlier in the day, members of the committee and the deputy commissioner inspected progress on the grid station project in Pattan, the district headquarters of Lower Kohistan. During the visit, the deputy commissioner asked for early completion of the work so electricity from the Dubair-Khawar powerhouse could be supplied to residents of Lower Kohistan and Kolai-Palas.

“We want the early completion and functioning of the project so that the people of Lower Kohistan and Kolai-Palas districts can be supplied with electricity from the Dubair-Khawar powerhouse,” Hayat said, addressing engineers and labourers at the site.

“I expect that Wapda will swiftly complete energising the grid station and ensure electricity supply to people of both the districts until June 12,” he also said.

The blockade had continued for five days and caused major difficulties for people travelling within Lower Kohistan as well as for those moving between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Bridge protection and road works

Separately, the district administration has started removing silt and rocks from beneath Mahandri Bridge over the Kunhar River. The bridge links Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with Gilgit-Baltistan through Kaghan Valley.

MPA Munir Hussain Lughmani told reporters that the buildup under the bridge had created a serious risk to the structure and that the desilting operation would cost Rs40 million. “The accumulation of silt and rocks posed a serious threat to the bridge. The desilting process will cost Rs40 million,” he said.

He said tourism in Kaghan and Manoor valleys had suffered losses last year after flash floods during the monsoon swept away the main bridge on the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road in Mahandri.

Mr Lughmani said the authorities had launched desilting and would also construct protection walls along the riverbanks to shield the nearby bazaar from flooding. “Fearing that the newly-built bridge could be washed away due to silt and rocks accumulated beneath it during the monsoon floods, we have not only started the desilting process but will also build protection walls along the riverbanks to protect the adjacent bazaar from flooding,” he added.

He added that machinery had already been deployed for the work.

The lawmaker also said the government had approved Rs100 million for a concrete bridge in Bela Manoor to replace the wooden ramp currently used in Manoor Valley. “This bridge will connect Manoor Valley with the MNJ Road, providing safe travel to the locals and tourists,” he further said.

He further said Rs40 million had also been approved for the Danna-Jarad Road to link Jarad village with the rest of the district through the MNJ Road.